The Federal-Postal Coalition -- a group representing more than two dozen federal employee unions -- pleaded with Congress on Monday to spare their members in any deal related to the "fiscal cliff."

Federal workers, the coalition wrote in a letter, have contributed more than their fair share toward reducing the debt and are the only group that has been targeted so heavily.

Federal and postal employees and their families are hardworking, middle-class Americans who are struggling during these tough times just like other Americans, the group wrote. No other group has been asked to financially contribute the way they have, and it is time our nations leaders found other ways to reduce the deficit than continually taking from those who have dedicated their lives to public service.

According to the coalition, federal employees have funded $60 billion in budget savings in 2011 and 2012 as a result of their ongoing pay freeze and an additional $28 billion in savings will be derived from the freeze extension through March 2013.

Federal workers also contributed $15 billion toward the budget in 2011 when the contribution rate toward retirement pensions was raised to 2.3 percent for new employees.

Top Democratic lawmakers on committees related to the federal workforce told Government Executive last week that they would like to leave federal-employee benefits out of any potential debt deal. After President Obamas reelection, top federal unions said they were confident their members would not be targeted in such a deal and a pay raise would be instituted.

Just like the risk of a losing hand for a gambler, or a market crash for a broker, one of the hazards of a public-sector job is that you live and die by the budget. The perqs are there to make up for it; as a private-sector worker, I had nothing like the retirement plans, healthcare options, and seniority promotions that public workers get.

Sure... and these same people will tell you that it is OK to cut the benefits of the retired military. They can stick that. I did 13 of my 23 years overseas away from my home and family. I have already earned what I have and paid the price in full. Now they think they should be exempt from any cuts. Bull Crap.....

Would these be the federal workers that owe billions in unpaid income taxes? Help my memory out here.

I don't owe any taxes and I'm a Federal worker who earns his pay. I understand the sentiments but it's disturbingly left-wing style blanket coverage in the way it gets "reported/commented on" in the comments.

For those who remember the old Soviet Union, it was a grim place  at least for average citizens. But not so for those in government. Contrary to the official ideals of equality and a classless society that the ruling communist regime espoused, the USSR created a privileged class of party members inside government  the nomenklatura.

This semipermanent bureaucracy earned higher incomes, got better health care, ate better food and had greater job security than average Russians, the much-despised proletarians. Today, our bloated government seems, in significant ways, to be creating this same dynamic.

All us private sector folks can sell our foreclosure homes and move into an apartment so the public sector can get a raise,retire at 55 with 80% of their highest salary, and move into our old homes.

26
posted on 11/21/2012 5:12:17 AM PST
by TurboZamboni
(Looting the future to bribe the present)

So the fact that you pay taxes (as my wife does as a teacher), is a bit odd. Your salary, and my bride’s, comes from taxes.

There was a congressmen years ago that suggested that federal salaries be adjusted to what the actual take home amount was, and then don’t charge them federal income tax. Since the money spent to process the returns made it a net loss.

Not sure what thats supposed to mean, Im a federal employee and I pay my taxes every year.

I think he meant that Federal workers are paid with private taxpayer dollars. Therefore, the "taxes" paid by federal employees are nothing more than returning some of the private taxpayer dollars to the government.

Yes we are paid with tax $. Make no mistake I am not trying to defend all fed workers, we have poor employees like all companies. Are fed workers more difficult to terminate? you bet, never liked that aspect of my employment. I worked in the private sector for many years before moving to federal.

Also fyi, I am on my third year of a pay freeze, no COLA, no bonus of any kind, nothing. Maybe that's the way it should be. I've been in federal service for 23 years and make around 68K. I don't think that's an outrageous annual salary do you?

the GS 11 and up employees are the biggest drag on the Treasury and the trend has been towards more and more higher paid goobermint workers. The Federal worker bees under GS 7 retire with very meager income. Government Elite is the problem and the ranks are growing.

Ive seen alot of frustration with regards to fed employees here on FR, some of it valid some not. I keep reading these comments on how much we make. It’s not always accurate. When the media reports it the folks I work with have no idea where these salary #s come from. maybe in DC but not where I work. lol

Without seeing your qualifications and job requirements, we have no way of knowing whether your salary is outrageous or not. Also, that $68k is your salary, right? How much additional do you receive P.A. in benefits?

I’m afraid i cant provide details about what I do as i’m in the DOD. I know fed workers get a bad rap here (and sometimes rightfully so) but there are many like myself who work hard for the American taxpayer you can believe that. Do we have sluggo employees? Sure do. But not all.

Also, before anyone asks, I work nights and I’m on leave for Tgiving so don’t worry about why i’m on FR on WEDS morning. lol

Also, that $68k is your salary, right? How much additional do you receive P.A. in benefits?

It's likely that benefits would add another 40% to overall compensation.

FWIW, the FDIC gets it right: a small permanent staff, augmented by term employees to handle spikes in the workload. Several thousand people were hired back in 2008-2009 to handle the additional workload brought on by the financial crisis. They were hired under two year contracts, with an agency option for two additional years.

As the crisis is winding down, so is the FDIC workforce. Temporary offices in Irvine, CA and Schaumberg, IL have been closed, and the remaining work has been transferred to its regional office in Dallas. A third temporary office in Jacksonville will remain open through 1st quarter 2014.

The powers that be in DC would do well to analyze how well the system worked for the FDIC, ranked by its employees as the "Best Agency to Work For" in 2011.

39
posted on 11/21/2012 5:55:35 AM PST
by Night Hides Not
(The Tea Party was the earthquake, and Chick Fil A the tsunami...100's of aftershocks to come.)

I would not assume that your benefits are typical, as Federal workers receive on average far more than their private sector counterparts.

I’m sure you are a very hard worker and a good person. It’s unfortunate that all Federal workers get painted with the same brush, but that’s where we are due to the ridiculous growth and dominion of the Federal government over us Americans who are paying for it.

A 50% haircut of the Federal workforce would be a good start. The Postal service and Amtrak, in particular, should be liquidated, and a number of Departments eliminated entirely.

Yep, i guess that was my point all along, that happens alot on FR, it's always kinda bugged me and I've never mentioned my career status before today. As for me I am in the DoD supporting the navy Warfighter and trust me the American taxpayer is getting their $$ worth. As for my bennies, I have blue cross federal, your right i dont know exactly but i cant imagine my ins. is that much better than anyone elses. As far as leave, we do get compensated pretty well but when I retire I cannot sell back much of it. As I said I am on a 3rd year pay freeze no COLA, no bonus of any kind, I'm not complaining but if anybody thinks I'm spending three weeks a year in the Caribbean their wrong, i dont work in the GSA.lol. As for being a good person, I hope so, I am as Conservative a person as I know how to be if that means anything and I hope it does.

That is fairly close to what I make as an engineer (in the Midwest, so I suspect my cost of living is cheaper than yours).

We haven’t had a pay freeze in a while, but I have taken pay cuts in the past. It is part of the game, and not a fun part either.

But I am fairly confident the benefits you have are a lot better than mine. I suspect you have a pension, and I have never had that option (my wife does also, but we are planning on Illinois to go bankrupt long before she sees a dime). And the health care for government workers is usually better, though that depends.

My point is that when the hard times hit, all need to be on the chopping block. I have been through it in two companies, and it is never easy. Once I left right before the ax fell on my position (thanks to a good manager who told me what was happening six months in advance).

The Postal Service loses money every year. They should be privatized. Amtrak is a bad joke on the taxpayers. All taxpayers have to subsidize riders in one quarter of the country that don't have other transportation but criticize those of us that commute to work in our own automobiles so we can earn money and pay taxes for them to ride Amtrak.

Out of all the federal workers I know personally (including my husband), only one is a loon as far as politics goes. The loon amongst them always votes for the weirdest third-party candidate there is and won’t vote for dems.

The rest of them vote for the closest thing to conservatives they can find — every election — and they refuse to join the union. The unions have lost many members over the last decade or so, and their crime bosses are desperately in search of other businesses to target, since they can no longer depend on federal employees to be loyal to them.

That’s easy to say now that the feds have almost destroyed the private sector and pay their special worker bees with money stolen from others.

Who knew they would flood the country with 40 million government dependents and make a lifestyle out of handouts?

I voted for smaller gov all my life and was niave enough at one point to believe it. I even believed that takers would never outnumber the makers without a collapse. But you make a good point, we were all dummies for not getting on the freebie bandwagon a long time ago.

47
posted on 11/21/2012 6:25:08 AM PST
by winodog
(Thank you Jesus for the calm in my life)

'Federal workers' is an oxymoron. 99.986524% of them aren't worth a crap. I saw that in person when I was on site for 18 months in a Gubmint bldg we were doing HVAC mechanical upgrades on (back during Klintoon's years and *his* gubmint shutdown).

The remaining .013476% of Fed workers are those like our Mail Man who not only is a "worker" but cares about the job he does. He'll actually get out of his truck and deliver to our door anything that's large and could possibly get damaged, ruined, or bent, if he put it in our mailbox as his 'job description' requires.

We also try to tip him at Christmas if we have an extra $20 laying around. But under Barry that's getting harder to do.

The reason I am with the fed gov is I was laid off from my last place of employment in private sector aerospace, so I know how that feels. as far as cost of living, i am in NE Fla. So it's not as bad as say south Fla.

As far as being on the chopping block, the fed gov does need downsizing, but with what we have in the Whitehouse I don't see that happening any time soon. I am proud and privileged to work for the American taxpayer supporting the US navy warfighter, there are many areas of fed gov that need cutting but (this may sound a little selfish) not where I work. What we do where I work is directly related to the freedom of this country, at least whatever the Whitehouse will allow.

Not to be intentionally rude, but really. . .”Im afraid i cant provide details about what I do as im in the DOD”

Many of us here served a career in the military. We know the DOD. We know who does what, where and how well. We also know GS scales.

We spent an entire career serving this great nation while at the same time fighting career bureaucrats (GS) as they went about their business of finding reasons they can't do something.

The worst GS examples of this approach are found in DC, to be sure.

At any rate, bottom line, saying you are in the DOD and can't talk about what you do is not really accurate. Every DOD organization and job, with very rare and limited exceptions, even those in the “black” part of the budget, has an unclassified description—how about yours?

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